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Ria’s Dynamite Indonesian Kale Curry

At this time of year right through to the first snowy days, Kale is abundant in gardens and markets. This tough leafy green is loaded with nutrients and here is a fun, exotic way to cook it.

This recipe comes from the crazy-beautiful Ria Loosemore – – – now a resident of Whiterock, B.C., but originally from Sumatera, Indonesia. Ria first came to Canada with the wonderful program Canada World Youth: http://canadaworldyouth.org/ If you are looking for an adventure and a fantastic year of intercultural learning, check out the program. It has changed many of our lives over the years! If you want to stay closer to home but sample the rich, spicy flavours of the Indonesian archipelago – try the recipe!

This recipe is dedicated to Sophia Higgins who will be heading to Indonesia soon with this year’s Canada World Youth project and to Danielle Johnston who thrived as a participant in a CWY project in a jungley village in Kalimantan and still misses the delicious food!

two bunches of fresh Kale (slide the fresh leaves off the tougher stems and discard stems)

1 Tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:

Puree the top five ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Heat cooking oil in a wok and fry the coconut milk spice paste that you have pureed.

Add the two inch chunk of fresh ginger and several dried small, salty fish and cook a while longer until the fish are dissolved into the sauce. (picture below of pkg. of dried fish – if you can’t find these you could experiment with omitting them or adding a tiny bit of anchovy paste).

Add all the Kale leaves and cook until they are tender, but still bright green.

This is another simple recipe: Put some oil in a wok, fry some hard boiled eggs until they are slightly golden and bubbled. Take them out of the oil and add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a chopped onion, 5 cloves of crushed garlic and a couple of big dollops of sambal oelek (chili paste) to the pan. when onions and garlic are cooked and translucent, put the fried, hard boiled eggs back into the spicy tomatoe sauce and stir around.

Lois Higgins tried this recipe and said it was wonderful. She added a couple handfuls of garden fresh cherry tomatoes and some chicken breast to make it a full meal. She also said that for her taste 1 tsp of sambal was enough (instead of 1 Tbsp.)

Thanks Ria, I will be in Indonesia in December and am looking forward to experiencing the food! I didn’t know that people eat the leaves as well as the roots of the cassava…
Aunty Robin, I’m planning to try this recipe with the kale from our garden this afternoon and will let you know how it turns out.

Thank u so much for your yummy kale recipe, Ria. I just made the dish and it is so easy and healthy. I grew up with Padang food since my Mom used to live there for many yrs with her parents and siblings years ago. I like Whiterock, I live only 2 hrs drive by car away from Whiterock, B.C. Again, thx for sharing.😋👍